One of the true boxing legends passed away yesterday. Joe Frazier was a great fighter and a class act.
– Every boxing fans should watch the documentary Thrilla in Manilla. You’ll see Frazier’s class along with how despicable Ali was in his racist taunts against Frazier. It’s no wonder Frazier hated Ali’s guts until he recently said he forgave him.
That’s the title of the Details interview with the man, the myth, the enigma that is Mike Tyson.
Here’s the first question:
Details: Twenty years ago, you were one of the most famous men on the planet. Is there a big plan for Act 2?
Mike Tyson: The first stage of my life was just a whole bunch of selfishness. Just a whole bunch of gifts to myself and people who didn’t necessarily deserve it. Now I’m 44, and I realize that my whole life is just a fucking waste. “Greatest man on the planet”? I wasn’t half the man I thought I was. So if there’s a big plan now, it’s just to give—it’s selflessness, caring for the people who deserve it. Because I think I’m a pig. I have this uncanny ability to look at myself in the mirror and say, “This is a pig. You are a fucking piece of shit.”
That’s quite a start. Read the rest of the interview here.
The 4-year-old daughter of former heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson was critically injured on Monday in what police said was a tragic accident at home. According to Fox News, Exodus Tyson was found by her 7-year-old brother hanging from the cord of a treadmill. At press time was reported to be in “extremely” critical condition and on life support at St. Joseph’s Hospital.
The toddler was reportedly playing near the exercise equipment in the family’s Phoenix home while her mother was elsewhere in the house cleaning on Monday morning. When her mother sent the boy to look for Exodus, he found her tangled in the cord. He alerted the mother, who immediately called 911 and began performing CPR.
“Somehow the little girl got something caught across her throat, she became unresponsive, the boy went and got the mother, and the mother came out and found the child,” Phoenix Police Sgt. Andy Hill told the Phoenix Fox affiliate.
Tyson, who has been promoting a documentary about his life for the past month, “Tyson,” was in Las Vegas at the time of the accident and reportedly flew home immediately upon receiving word of it.
Police are calling the mishap a “tragic accident.” A police spokesperson told Fox News that there was “nothing in the investigation that revealed anything suspicious.”
I’m not a parent, so I can only imagine how kids can get into things when you think you’ve placed them in a safe environment. (Or disappear when you turn your back to do something else.)
I’m sure it was an accident and this is an incredibly sad situation. Hopefully young Exodus can recover.
With tax day quickly approaching, Real Clear Sports.com complied a list of the top 10 worst athletes to ask for financial advice.
Here is the top 3:
3. Michael Vick
So, how did Vick go from one of the highest paid athletes to owing millions? To start, there’s the entourage. Vick was spending about $300,000 a month to support friends and family. But the biggest factor was who was in control of his money. Vick entrusted his money to a woman who is banned from working with any firm that trades on the NYSE because she bilked two old women out of $150K and a man who’s been accused of defrauding church members. His finances were such a mess that the bankruptcy judge appointed a trustee to help him out.
Vick owes over a million dollars in back taxes and it was recently discovered that he took funds from the pension plans of some of his employees. But if you are beginning to feel sorry for Vick, (“Then you’re not a dog lover”!) don’t. To pay off some of the debt, Vick will be selling three of his SIX homes. That’s less than one home per season. Do you really expect Vick to summer in Virginia? Do you?
2. Latrell Sprewell
In August of 2007, a federal marshal seized his $1.5 million yacht after Sprewell had failed to pay his mortgage on the boat. The yacht, with the classy name, Milwaukee’s Best, was auctioned in early 2008.
Oh well, at least Sprewell would still have his home in River Hills, Wisconsin. That is, until it was foreclosed on in May of last year. So, let’s see, he lost his yacht and his house. It can’t get much worse. Oh, and now Wisconsin has filed a lawsuit for unpaid taxes. Hopefull Sprewell isn’t expecting a big refund this year.
1. Mike Tyson
In 2003, he filed for bankruptcy. His debt reached over $27 million, about half of which was to the IRS. Maybe he shouldn’t have bought the two Bengal tigers for $140,000, for which he also had to pay a trainer $125,000 a year. Although, that’s just a small drop in the bucket. He could’ve cut back on his motor vehicles, on which he spent about $4.5 million. But perhaps the most inane purchase? How about a bathtub for his first wife, Robin Givens, that cost $2 million dollars.
Tyson could’ve gotten his finances in order had he won the $100 million lawsuit against Don King (he was suing his former boxing promoter for cheating him out of millions in promotions), but the parties reached a settlement of $14 million, of which Tyson saw none. All of the money went to paying down his debt.
When you figure that most of these athletes never seek out sound legal and financial advice, it’s easy to see how they blow through wads of money in a very short period of time. They just think that money will always come in and they don’t have to worry about anything long-term. How Vick blew through all his money is still beyond me.
